Jan 29, 2009 - Claremont, Calif. - Long-time friends and supporters of Harvey Mudd College, E.M. (Mo) Benson, Jr., and Elise Mudd Marvin (pictured at right) passed away in January.

An emeritus trustee, Benson enjoyed a long and successful career as part of the top management at ARCO and was credited with supervising the building of the Alaska Pipeline. He served HMC as a trustee from 1974 to 1994, during which time he participated in a variety of committees. He supported the Shirley and Mo Benson Annual Scholarship in honor of his late wife, and funded several charitable gift annuities benefiting the college, particularly as part of the last campaign. Services for Benson are pending and information will be added to this page as it becomes available.

Elise Mudd Marvin, niece of Harvey S. Mudd, for whom the college was named when founded in 1955, passed away Jan. 13. She gave generously to the college for nearly 40 years, providing support totaling more than $1 million. Beginning in 1989, she began supporting the Elise Mudd Marvin Annual Scholarship that has resulted in 47 students receiving 94 scholarships since then.

An avid gardener, Marvin relished the time she spent working in the gardens at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. In 1998 she helped organize a reunion where more than 130 Mudd family members (including four of her own children and six grandchildren) celebrated the college that bears the name they share.

In a profile in the 2001 Honor Roll of Donors to HMC, Marvin said she believed that in addition to the Mudd name setting it apart from other colleges, HMC’s small size was also a distinguishing factor in its importance and success. “Because HMC is small, the professors and staff are more accessible to students than at larger universities,” she said. “This also provides a less intimidating and more intimate atmosphere which is especially important for a science and engineering college.”

Marvin was proud of the contributions her Mudd ancestors had made to the education of so many diverse students. “The students seem to appreciate the excellent education and high standards that HMC provides them in their journey toward fulfilling their dreams,” she said.

The daughter of Seeley Greenleaf Mudd, a former dean of medicine at University of Southern California, and granddaughter of Colonel Seeley Wintersmith Mudd, who founded the University of Southern California’s Mudd Hall of Philosophy, Marvin was encouraged in the arts and education. While attending college on the East Coast, Marvin met her husband, Murray Sands Marvin. The couple returned west to make Pasadena their home.

Marvin is survived by her four children—Darian Dragge, Wendel Bruss, Murray Sands Marvin, Jr., and Guru Amrit Khalsa—six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A memorial service in her honor will be held Feb. 20 at 10:30 a.m. at All Saints Church in Pasadena. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to The Elise Mudd Marvin Scholarship Fund at Harvey Mudd College. Contact Maya Chalich at (909) 607-0899.